


A Love That Consumes You

by H0siesEndgame



Series: Hosie Oneshots [1]
Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Hanahaki Disease, Hosie, Josie is in love with Hope, Letters, Mentions of Handon, Mentions of other characters - Freeform, Possibly Unrequited Love, Temporarily Unrequited Love, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-16 15:02:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29334222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/H0siesEndgame/pseuds/H0siesEndgame
Summary: Josie is quite literally, fatally in love with Hope Mikaelson.
Relationships: Hope Mikaelson & Josie Saltzman, Hope Mikaelson/Josie Saltzman
Series: Hosie Oneshots [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2169783
Comments: 18
Kudos: 107





	A Love That Consumes You

**Author's Note:**

> TW - Mentions of blood, throwing up, etc. Some strong language.
> 
> If you aren't familiar with the concept, it will be explained throughout this oneshot. I tried not to put too many tags, because I didn't want to spoil anything. You can always google it too, which would probably be best for context.
> 
> I got inspired by the story 'Take a Trip Into My Garden' by chrysanthemum_red, and wanted to give my own take on the concept.
> 
> Also, I used particular punctuation/lines to help separate things and make it more clear. You'll see what I'm talking about when reading :)

Josie is stumbling towards the Old Mill, clutching the envelopes in her hand. Her other hand is fiddling with her talisman, a painful reminder of what is happening. She feels it, right in her core. She feels the painful throbbing in her throat, the sharp pain that courses throughout her body. She feels it as another purple petal violently hurls itself out of her throat. Speckles of her own blood cover it, and she curses such a beautiful flower for causing her so much pain. The brunette can feel more climbing their way up her esophagus, laying their roots in her lungs. It hurts, it burns, and she can't breathe. Josie can't fucking breathe. Her lungs are filled and she just wants it to stop. Thankfully tonight, it will.

The girl makes it into the Mill, edging her way over to the couch in the middle of the room. It's peaceful and quiet, a complete contrast to the normal energy that you find in this place. And she finds herself grateful that for once, there is nobody else around. She doesn't want anyone to see her like this. She especially doesn't want her friends or her family to have to sit back and watch as the life is drained from her, as she takes her final breath on this earth. Josie doesn't want them to feel useless, not being able to help her escape this well-known disease.

As she collapses to the ground in pain, she remembers so many things. So many memories in the school, and here, in the Old Mill. So many late nights watching movies, or enjoying parties. That's how it all began for her. Funnily enough, her very first symptom happened right here, during a small, simple party the wolves were throwing after a full moon.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

_Josie was hesitant to go, but unfortunately, Lizzie had dragged her. The blonde twin had even picked out their outfits. None of it changed how Josie felt. Who could blame her? The whole school (except maybe the Super Squad) hated even hearing her name. Some of them still shook in fear, unable to forget everything she had done when the dark magic controlled her every thought. The only reason she was rid of it was because of Hope. Said girl is who Josie's heart belonged to, to who it had always belonged and would belong to for the rest of her life. Sure, there had been a few obstacles in her path to realization, such as Penelope, Hope being forgotten, her brief relationship with Landon, but she got there in the end. And it was a painful realization because she knew she was destined to a future with unrequited love. Three words that hovered over Josie. I love her; three words that felt like a curse because she knew she'd never be able to give them a voice._

_Nevertheless, it was impossible to deny that she was totally and well, hopelessly in love with the tribrid. Her best friend. Her best friend was the only ever thing on Josie's mind. She tried to drown out her thoughts with alcohol, lots of it. She danced with Lizzie and MG and watched as he pined after her sister. Josie briefly wondered if he was met with the same ache she felt regarding Hope whenever he was ignored or rejected by Lizzie. It was one of many things that they had in common, both of them in love with people who didn't feel the same._

_She chugged down her beer, welcoming the bitter taste. It proved to be somewhat of a distraction, but that all went out the window as Hope walked into the Old Mill. Right by her side, was Landon. They were arm in arm, and suddenly Josie felt sick. The bitter taste was no longer due to the alcohol, but due to the sight of the happy couple. She watched them make their way to the dance floor and watched as Hope's lips formed the brightest smile she had ever seen. Josie's heart clenched as Landon's hands fell to Hope's waist, and it stopped beating altogether when the couple kissed. Josie hated this feeling, this jealousy that pooled in her stomach, she hated how much she wished to be the one holding the young Mikaelson._

_Josie couldn't stand the sight for another second, so she left. She dropped her red cup and left, successfully avoiding anxious looks or questions from her friends. The girl didn't stop moving until the music faded to a silent hum. She gripped onto the nearest tree and bent over, thinking that perhaps she should've gone easier on the alcohol. She knew that she had drunk a few cups full, although she didn't think it had been enough to make her feel as sick as she did. Normally she'd last longer. This wasn't the case then, because she could feel the liquid forcing its way back up. Her eyes widened as she realized that she hadn't thrown up alcohol, no, it was...white rose petals?_

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

She remembers how she hadn't thought much of it at first, noted it as some strange side effect of the alcohol she had consumed (or maybe she just didn't want to believe what was right in front of her). The second time, however, she was much more sober and knew that it wasn't just her brain playing tricks. That had been when it clicked, that it hadn't been some hallucination and that she had become a victim of the Hanahaki disease. Josie remembers the exact moment she realized she didn't have much longer to live, and she distinctly remembers crying to herself for hours.

They had learned of the disease in class. Josie can remember doing projects on it, spending hours researching the rare disease, learning the how's and why's. She remembers feeling sorry for the countless people who had fallen victim to the horrible curse - because that's what she thought it to be, a curse. Josie still feels the tears on her face as she recalls the countless diary entries of people loving someone in silence until they met their end. She wondered and still wonders how nature could be so cruel, how something as beautiful as love could cause such hurt. She tried not to believe the existence of such a thing, but when she began suffering from it, it became impossible to deny.

She remembers seeing Hope and Landon all lovey-dovey and feeling the need to throw up each time. She remembers the shock whenever a petal crawled out of her mouth, and the excruciating agony that it caused her. She remembers the days she thought of telling Hope how she felt or how she is bound to die because of her feelings, but she had never wanted to ruin Hope's happiness in any way. And Hope was happy with Landon. He made her happy in ways that Josie couldn't but dreamt that she could. She'd never get in the middle of that for her own selfish reasons. So, she vowed to suffer in silence.

That is how she finds herself kneeling on the wooden floor of the Old Mill in some of the worst pain of her life. That is how she knows that her time is coming to an end. She doesn't want to die, she just wants to live, but she knows that she can't. There is no cure, there has never been a case of someone surviving the disease, so why would she be the first? She partly feels guilty for not telling anyone but remembers that telling them wouldn't have made a difference. Muttering a word of her condition to her family would have only ended in them locking her up in hopes that disease fades. She knows they would have done it out of love, in the same way, she knows that nobody could prevent the inevitable. In her vow to suffer in silence, she also vowed to live her last days to the fullest, as cliche as it sounds.

Josie hadn't wanted to burden anyone with her problems, and she knew that saying goodbye would just be too hard. The people closest to her would have been able to sense something was off, and therefore to her, the easiest way to say what she wanted to say, to say her goodbyes was by writing a series of letters. One for her parents, for her sister, for MG, and one for Hope. She remembers the heavy feeling as she had put her pen to paper and let the ink flow. Her thoughts came out rather messy, yet she managed to get it all out.

Each letter contains the same sort of thing: a goodbye, her telling them to be happy without her, her saying that she wishes for them to have bright futures where they fulfill their dreams as well as her saying thank you to them for everything that had done for her. It hadn't been easy, and she had shed plenty of tears when writing, but it had to be done.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

_Josie wiped the tears away after signing her name at the end of the letter for MG, ticking his name off of her mental list. She then moved on to the next person, her dearest sister._

_Dear Lizzie,  
If you're reading this, then I am no longer with you. And believe me, it pains me that you have to go through this loss, but there was nothing that could be done. And hey, I guess this means you won't have to kick my ass in the Merge anymore. I know you're probably angry at me for making a joke in this situation, maybe you even hate me for not telling you what was going on with me. Just know this, it's not your fault. What happened to me was a result of my own feelings, and you couldn't have prevented this. _

_I want you to know that I'll always be there in spirit. I'll always be watching over you, and I do not doubt that I will be proud of the great woman you become. I know you are going to be upset, and that you'll miss me just as I'll miss you, but please don't let that stop you from living your life. The last thing I want is for you to miss out on a world of opportunities and love because of me. You have told me many times about the life you want, and I really hope you get that. You deserve it, after all. You've grown to be a truly amazing woman and you deserve a truly happy life. I'm sorry I won't be there to see it._

_Don't try and shut people out. Please don't try and blame yourself or anyone else. I know they don't need it and that they are adults, but please look after mom and dad. They've both suffered so much loss already, and I'm afraid that without the support, they'll lose themselves in the grief. Please look after yourself, too._

_Lastly, I want to say thank you. I know that sometimes you doubted if you were a good sister, but you were the best sister I could have asked for. No matter what you think, you were always there when I needed you. You always knew when I needed a hug, or when I needed to be left alone. We had our ups and downs, but I wouldn't change a thing. Thank you for everything. Thank you for not giving up on me when I went through, what you call 'The Dark Josie Fiasco'. You have no idea how grateful I am for that. I love you so so so much, Liz. Don't you ever forget that._

_All my love,  
Josie_

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

She holds the stack of envelopes close, as clumps of petals and stems creep up her throat, not yet making their exit past her lips. She screams in pain, coughing violently. She just wants it to stop. She feels as if her lungs are being stuffed as if the space for air keeps shrinking. Each breath she takes is short and sudden. The coughs shake her entire body. She suddenly thinks that choosing to be alone may have been a mistake, that perhaps having someone close in her final moments have been better, might have given her some comfort, but it's too late. There's nobody else around, and she's going to die alone. 

_The tears don't stop, they fall down her cheeks and soak her shirt. Some catch the edges of her hair, causing it to stick to her skin. And she remembers a time when Hope had seen her like this, when Hope had almost found out. It's hard to remove the image of the worry she saw in her favorite blue eyes._

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

_Josie felt the familiar feeling in her throat, and she had to get away from them, from Hope. She needed to get to the bathroom, fast. Standing up quickly, Josie rushed away from the breakfast table where her friends were seated without looking back. They all watched her with confused frowns, wondering why she left without saying a word._

_She pushed open the stall door and locked it behind her. Her head leaned over the toilet as the white petals littered the water. She watched them as they fell gracefully whilst she continued coughing. They scratched at her throat, and they scratched and scratched until they got out. Some of them were stained crimson, and some of them looked like they were freshly picked from some field._

 _Images of the phoenix and the tribrid sitting close, just being together flashed through her mind. Eating breakfast became impossible when the two joined the table because the food couldn't make it down her throat with the petals that were threatening to come up._

_The feeling eventually settled, though not without leaving her feeling tired. Her throat still ached. It felt raw, bruised, like it was lined with millions of small cuts and tears. She stepped out of the stall and looked at herself in the mirror. Her hair was a mess from having leaned over the toilet for such a long time. Somehow, a single petal had got caught in it, so she pulled it out and inspected it closely. It actually looked pretty, there was a small crease in the center of it and-_

_"Josie?" Hope walked in, and Josie couldn't have clasped her hand around the petal fast enough. "Hey. You okay?" She asked softly, and Josie felt like vomiting rose petals all over again. She was reminded of this painful one-sided love as the person her heart desired stood in front of her, looking incredibly worried._

_"I-I'm fine." She mumbled, trying to hide the fact that she had been crying. By the look on Hope's face, she had noticed, but she didn't directly address it._

_"It's just...you left without saying a word, and you had us all a bit confused, but mostly worried." Josie tried to subtly put her hand behind her back, and dropped the petal into the back pocket of her pants. Hope walked closer to her, scanning the girl's face for something. Josie felt those blue eyes staring deep into her soul. She did her best not to get lost in them for the hundredth time that day._

_"I guess I just needed a minute." Josie lied. Hope walked even closer, close enough that she grabbed both of Josie's hands and held them in her own. Her eyes squinted as she focused. A frown graced her lips and her head tilted to the right, in the way it always did when she didn't believe someone. Then, her eyes fell to their joined hands, where she spotted something._

_"You...are you bleeding?"_

_"Oh...nothing a simple healing spell couldn't handle." Josie lied again. There was no way she was going to tell Hope what was really going on because she knew that Hope would somehow find a way to blame herself. She felt stupid for not seeing the speck of crimson liquid on her hand, likely from when she wiped her mouth after._

_"Are you sure you're okay?" Hope checked again. Josie hated lying, completely despised it, but she hated the truth even more._

_"I'm sure." She attempted to sound as confident as possible, giving Hope a fake smile._

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

Obviously Josie wasn't fine back then. She was and is dying, but Hope could never know that. 

For a second, it stops. The coughing, the blood spilling with each piece of a flower she regurgitates, but then it comes back full force the very next second. And Josie begs and begs the gods, the universe, or anyone who's listening to just make it stop.

**\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"Don't walk away from us!" Landon yells, not even caring to keep his voice low with how late it is. It's past curfew, people are sleeping, and here he is shouting at Hope. How dare he? "You're kissing me one minute, then laying all this crap on me the next?" She isn't sure how to respond. Sure, she felt guilty, so very guilty, but she couldn't be with him when her heart is no longer there. Not when she is deeply in love with someone else. 

"This is how it has to be, Landon. We can't be together anymore." She does feel sorry for hurting him, but it's better this than keeping him in a relationship that he shouldn't be in. Hope, as harsh as it may seem, is no longer in love with him. Maybe she never was, maybe she just loved the idea of him. Maybe she loved how normal he was, and how she didn't have to worry about him dying on her. It was easy to rely on him because he was always there. He couldn't die, so she couldn't lose him like she lost her parents. He made her feel loved, but that just wasn't enough for her anymore. She loves him, she's just not _in_ love with him. 

"So, what? You break up with me without giving a proper explanation?" His voice is still loud and angry. He is glaring at Hope, in a way she has never seen before. There are still hidden remnants of love in his eyes, but that's clouded by bright red anger. Hope didn't think Landon had it in him to ever getting angry at anyone, much less angry at her. 

"Giving you the reason will only hurt more." She sighs, rubbing her face with her hands. She really doesn't want to tell him, because she knows it will break his heart. And she doesn't want to break his heart any more than she already has to. This is hard enough for both of them. She'd hoped to end it smoothly because no matter what, she still wants him in her life. She values his friendship, and the last thing she wants is to lose it. 

"So there's someone else?" He assumes. Hope stares at him blankly, which is apparently enough of an answer for him, but she can't - she won't tell him who. "Who, Hope? Who is it?" He folds his arms in front of him and takes a step closer to her. 

"I-" He doesn't even let her answer before cutting her off, his anger making him spit out sentence after sentence. 

"Did you cheat on me?" His insecurities are leaking through. Landon grabs Hope's wrist tightly. His brows hang lower, and his lips frown in a way she used to find adorable. The problem is that when he pouts in this way, she sees the pout of another person. And when she sees those lips, she dreams of kissing them, dreams of holding the person closely. When the reality of his words sinks in, Hope's own rage forms. She hadn't been angry before, just relieved to finally get the truth out. But now, she's furious. 

"How could you even think that?" She hisses, feeling particularly hurt at the accusation. She looks down at his hand, expecting him to move it, and he does so with speed, acting like someone who's just been burned. She can't believe the way he is acting, and she can't help but wonder if he had always been this type of person, and she just hadn't realized it. 

"You're right, I'm sorry." He puts his own hands to the side of his face. Then, his left moves to the back of his neck and scratches, one of his nervous ticks. "I'm just angry. I love you, Hope, I know we can make this work." He refuses to let the relationship go. He can't see that it is no longer what she wants, too focused on his own feelings to see it. 

"I don't feel that way anymore, Landon. I'm sorry." Hope speaks honestly. She turns to walk away, and as she reaches for the door she hears Landon mumble 'fuck you'. Hope desperately wants to slap him, but that won't end well. So she decides on the next best thing; running as her wolf. 

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

Hope's running in her wolf form as she always does to clear her head. She dodges a few trees when she hears screams coming from behind her, the direction of the Old Mill. Someone is clearly hurt and in pain. When she sniffs the air stronger, she gets a salty scent, probably tears, blood, and...vanilla. The same comforting vanilla smell that she has always loved, and suddenly she knows who those cries belong to - Josie. She is hurt, quite possibly in danger. Hope isn't sure, but she knows she has to go and help her best friend. She takes off at an even greater speed, sprinting to where she left her clothes and shifting back in the shortest amount of time it's ever taken her. Her clothes slide over her body easily, and it takes her a whole ten seconds to reach the entrance of the Old Mill. 

Hope peers around a corner, and in the middle of the floor, she sees Josie, in what appears to be some sort of coughing fit. She wastes no time and rushes to the girl's side, noticing the small drops of blood that are soaking into the wooden flooring. Josie has a hand against her own throat, and the other is holding something that Hope doesn't care to look at. All she cares about is helping Josie in any way she can. 

The brunette hasn't noticed Hope's arrival and is still trying to cough up the next handful of petals and stems. Nothing comes up, and that only hurts more. Her insides are twisting, her lungs feel like their collapsing - the pressure of roses almost crushing them. It's a wonder to her that she's still breathing. 

"Josie? Josie, what's wrong?" Hope places a hand on Josie's back, and watches as Josie looks at her with tear-stained cheeks. Her cheeks are puffy, and Hope can tell she's been in this state for a while. Josie pauses briefly, then coughs up some more blood. Hope instantly bites into her wrist, supports the back of Josie's head with her hand, and nudges her wrist closer to the girl's mouth. Josie stops her before the liquid can pass her lips. 

"No...that won't work. Not this time." She says. The coughing seems to lessen, but the pain is still there. Hope feels worried, and tears form in her eyes at the sight in front of her. She doesn't want to see Josie in pain, and all she wants is to ends the gemini witch's suffering. 

"What do you mean? Of course it will." Josie pushes her hands against the wood to lift herself up a bit. It doesn't last long, as her entire body is weak, and only falls back down again. Hope reacts quickly, putting her tighter around Josie. 

"Hey, I got you." She lifts the siphon up and sits down on the couch, with Josie's head in her lap. She gives Josie a moment to adjust to the move. Hope tries to feed her blood to Josie again and grows frustrated and confused when the siphoner rejects it. Her blood heals anything, so she doesn't know why Josie thinks it won't. 

"It won't work," Josie repeats. 

"I-I don't understand." 

Taking the deepest breath she can get, Josie prepares herself for what she has to say. She hadn't expected anyone to show up at this time, so she isn't sure how to handle it. 

"I'm dying." She goes with, doubting she can say much more than that without breaking down completely. Hope feels her heart sink. How could Josie be dying? When Hope listens closely, she hears Josiie's rapid heartbeat, not at all how it should be. 

"Don't say that, you hear me? You're gonna be fine, okay? Just hold on a little longer." Josie's eyes keep fluttering between open and closed, maybe because she's trying to hold back the tears, or perhaps because she's so damn exhausted. 

"I am...I'm dying." Josie whispers, looking into Hope's gorgeous blue eyes. Time slows down, only briefly, but she just loves how blue Hope's eyes are. She just loves Hope, more than she ever thought possible. She loves her so much that she's going to die because of it. 

"Please Jo...there has to be something I can do," Hope says, clueless to Josie's condition. She has no idea of the disease that has slowly been eating away at the younger girl for weeks. She frantically searches over Josie's body, thinking maybe she'll find some sort of wound, anything that could tell her why Josie's so sure that she's dying. She finds nothing other than small splashes of blood on her clothing. 

Josie thinks about turning Hope away, telling her to go, but she knows Hope would refuse. And maybe she's glad Hope showed up because she couldn't possibly of anticipated how horrible dying alone would feel. Maybe she now wants Hope there, maybe she just wants someone to tell her it's going to be okay, even if she knows otherwise. 

"Hold me...one last time...Please?" She begs. She just needs to feel Hope's warmth around her, she needs to feel protected in her final moments. 

"Of course." Hope sniffs. She refuses to believe that this is it. They always find a way and she has no doubt that they will this time, but she still fulfills Josie's wish. The auburn-haired girl pulls the siphoner up and wraps her arms tightly around her. She hears a sigh escape Josie as her head rests against Hope's chest. Josie coughs every now and then which doesn't bother Hope. The same way that it doesn't bother her that her shirt is soaked with the tears of her friend - that only makes her heart sink even further. All she wants to do is help, but she doesn't know how. Not once in her life has Hope ever felt so helpless. 

"I really am sorry, Hope. The last thing I wanted was for you to lose somebody else." Images of her parents and uncle flash in front of her, and there's no way she's going to let Josie die too. At times like this, it would be useful if the school allowed phones. Hope reminds herself to mention this to Alaric the next time she sees him. 

Out of nowhere, Josie shoots forward and leans over the edge of the sofa. Hope's eyes widen at the sight before, and she's pretty sure her heart shatters into a million pieces then. A handful of white rose petals fall to the floor, mixed in with blood and Hope feels her tears falling freely. Josie sits back against the sofa. Her skin is pale, paler than anyone's skin should ever be, and her lips are stained red. 

Hope now knows exactly what's wrong, and she fears the outcome. What if this is the one time that they can't escape death? What if there is no answer? No. There has to be something. She won't sit back and let Josie die! 

"You...the Hanahaki disease. H-How didn't I know about this?" She ponders aloud. A gentler cough escapes Josie, and then she slowly turns her body towards Hope. Her brown orbs meet Hope's blue ones, and she reaches for a comforting hand. 

"Because I didn't tell anyone." She let out a sour and bloody laugh, then continues speaking. "It's almost ironic that something which normally brings me so much joy is going to be the literal death of me." Her eyes stayed closed for longer, and she feels every muscle in her dying body working to open them back up. Josie isn't sure if she's talking about the flower, or love. It's more than likely both. 

"No!" Hope exclaims. "You can't die! I won't allow it." Her voice shakes, and she looks at Josie with such desperation. "I-I can't lose you." The sounds of the two sobbing fills the overwhelming silence. Hope knows of the disease, she knows how serious it can be. She knows that there is no known cure, but it doesn't mean she has to accept that fact. She will take into account every other possibility before considering the thought that Josie could actually die. 

"I need you to promise me something." She opens her hand and gives the content in it to Hope. "Give these letters to everyone? I just couldn't do the goodbyes face to face. T-there's one for you too." Somehow, it's as if everything is that little bit less painful in Hope's presence. She knows she's still dying, but it doesn't hurt as much with the tribrid there. 

"M-maybe telling the person how you feel could stop this. Yeah...It could save you. It has to." Hope insists. It _has_ to. 

"It won't, it never has for others who were in my place, and besides...they'll never love me like that. It's the disease for those with unrequited love for a reason." The words tumble out of her mouth. Hope is stunned that Josie thinks such a thing. How could someone not love her? Whoever this person is, she feels like punching their face to knock some sense into them. 

"And what if they do? Tell me and I'll tell them for you, hell, you can shout it from the rooftops...just please, don't die." The last words come out in a hushed whisper. Hope is barely keeping herself together. She's doing her best to remain strong, confident, and positive for Josie, but her resolve is falling with every second she sees the brunette in this state. 

"If only it were that easy." Josie feels something at the back of her mouth, and as she coughs she sees the stem of a white rose with a handful of petals attached to it. In any other situation, Hope would have admired how it was such a stunning flower, she might have even painted it. Now she hates the sight of it, thinks she will forever hate stupid white roses for trying to take Josie's life. 

Josie debates not saying anything, but then again she hasn't got much time left to live, so what's the point in holding back? She lifts a hand to Hope's cheek and uses her thumb to wipe away the tears. Her arm feels weak, yet she doesn't want to bring it back down. Instead, she leaves it there, stroking over the smooth skin, memorizing how it feels under her touch. 

"But...I suppose, if it's my last chance to say it...I love you, Hope Mikaelson." A cough interrupts her, but she isn't done. "I love you, even with my dying breath, and I'll love you in whatever stage of existence comes next. I'll always love you." In an instant, Josie's eyes close. Hope sees Josie's hand fall and misses the feeling of it on her face. She sees the siphon's body go completely limp. Not wanting to believe, she listens. Hope listens for any signs of breathing, of a heart beating, because Josie can't be dead. She can't. Except, she is. There's no sound coming from her, and her chest isn't rising and falling as it should be. She's completely still. She's lifeless...dead. 

_Oh god. She's dead._

"No...Josie, please come back to me." Hope pleads. She gently shakes Josie, praying that the girl will show some sign of life. "Open your eyes! Please, Jo, I need you to open y-your eyes, bec-cause" And Hope knows that there's no world in which Josie will ever open her eyes again. Just then, the tribrid wishes that she was a vampire so she could shut it all off, but she's not. Not yet, at least. "I-I never got to say it back." 

Hope brushes her hand over Josie's face, already so cold and lacking in color. Her tears fall and hit the brunette's skin. "I love you, Josie." Hope gives up on holding it together and pulls Josie's body closer. Hope hugs her tightly, waiting for the girl to hug back. She never does.

**Author's Note:**

> Sooo...I'm sorry for giving such a sad ending. I'm thinking of writing another fic with the whole Hanahaki Disease idea in the future, except maybe a happier ending. Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed, and please let me know all your thoughts in the comments! I appreciate all of the support :)
> 
> If you see any mistakes, please point them out!


End file.
